Drinkaware appoints medical panel

Drinkaware has appointed a national advisory panel of medical professionals to mould its work in educating consumers about the misuse of alcohol.

The panel includes: Chris Day, professor of liver medicine at Newcastle University; Dr Russell Viner, director of adolescent medicine at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and Dr Jonathan Chick, a consultant psychiatrist from the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.

The other panel members are Professor Mark Bellis from Liverpool John Moores University, Professor Graham Ogden of the University of Dundee and Professor Jonathan Shepherd of Cardiff University.

The panel will be headed by Drinkaware's chief medical adviser, Professor Paul Wallace.

It will provide Drinkaware with the most up-to-date, medically-sound information for its campaigns.

The drinks industry has come under fire from many parts of the medical profession for not doing enough to combat alcohol abuse.

Drinkaware chief executive Chris Sorek said: "The appointment of the medical advisory panel will help Drinkaware to be at the forefront of medical advice relating to alcohol and will ensure that the charity continues to be a trusted source for consumers seeking the facts about alcohol and how it affects their health."